G8 have $20B for 'Arab Spring'

Hoping to encourage the push for freedom and democracy, President Obama and leaders of the G-8 countries announced Friday that they will allow international development banks to provide more than $20 billion to help spur development in the “Arab Spring” counties like Egypt and Tunisia.

A statement released by the G-8 leaders assembled in Deauville, France, did not breakdown how much development banks from each county would provide, but promised to “mobilize substantial bilateral support to scale up this effort.”

Story Continued Below

“Our collective aim is to ensure that instability does not undermine the process of political reform, and that social cohesion and macroeconomic stability are both sustained,” the statement read.

The statement also did not make clear what specifically the $20 billion in funds were designed to provide the two countries.

Hoping to further encourage the push for freedom and democracy in the Arab world, the statement warned Syria the G-8 countries will seek “further action” if the government continues to use violence to breakup protests in the country where hundreds of protestors have reportedly been killed by the military.